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156
Joe Ink
Student @ University of Abuja
Student @ University of Abuja
THE COUNTRY WE LOVE, THE LIFE WE NEED.
With
<p><br/></p><p>A few months ago I walked into a hospital and met a doctor who stood out.</p><p><br/></p><p>He was patient. He listened carefully. He explained things clearly. He treated people with real concern. I left that day thinking, At least we still have people like this.</p><p><br/></p><p>Months later I went back looking for him.</p><p><br/></p><p>He has left the country.</p><p><br/></p><p>Just like that. Another skilled Nigerian gone.</p><p><br/></p><p>I felt disappointed, but not angry. Because I understood. Better opportunities, better conditions, a chance at a life that doesn’t constantly feel like survival. Who can blame him?</p><p><br/></p><p>And now I’m sitting with the same question.</p><p><br/></p><p>Should I feel guilty for even thinking about leaving?</p><p><br/></p><p>Because right now the decision feels exactly like being stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.</p><p><br/></p><p>Stay, and keep fighting in a system that keeps breaking the people who try to fix it. </p><p>Leave, and become another name on the list of those who abandoned ship.</p><p><br/></p><p>Either way, something is lost.</p><p><br/></p><p>I keep hearing people say patriotism means staying no matter what. But I’m not sure I buy that anymore. Loving this country shouldn’t mean agreeing to suffer indefinitely. Patriotism shouldn’t be measured by how much hardship I can endure.</p><p><br/></p><p>We have limited time left. </p><p>I’m not talking about Nigeria’s age. I’m talking about my own years. The ones I still have to build something, to breathe, to live without constantly calculating the cost of every decision.</p><p><br/></p><p>I don’t have a perfect answer. </p><p>I only know this: if Nigeria remains a place where staying feels like a sacrifice and leaving feels like betrayal, then too many of us will keep drowning in that same impossible choice.</p><p><br/></p><p>I want a country where I can stay without feeling like I’ve chosen the devil… </p><p>and leave without feeling like I’ve chosen the deep blue sea.</p><p><br/></p><p>Until then, the question will keep sitting heavy on my chest:</p><p><br/></p><p>Should I feel guilty… or should I just choose life?</p>
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